USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume II > Part 10
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(VIII) Henry Devereux Sewall. second son of Samuel and Abi- gail ( Devereux) Sewall, was intended for a mercantile career and was not given a college education. In 1807 he went to Portland, where he was employed in a branch establishment of one of the business houses of Boston. In 1811 he moved the business to Montreal, Canada, and in 1813, owing to the war with England, was required either to take the oath of allegiance or to leave Canada. He chose the latter alternative and abandoned his business. Being obliged to return to Montreal during the year, he was arrested as a spy, but succeeded in proving his inno- cence. In 1814 he traveled for a time in western New York, collecting debts, and was afterward engaged for some years in foreign shipping and commission business in New York city. In 1828 he began to build a home for himself on Sewall's Island, and, in May, 1829. he and his family moved to Watertown, taking possession of their new home on October 17th. Mr. Sewall did much to advance the prosperity of Watertown by his interest in manufactures, and erected the original structure of Bagley & Sewall's Machine Works. When the first Trinity church was built in Court street the greater part of the expense was borne by Mr. Sewall, he and his family being members of the congre- gation.
Mr. Sewall married Mary Catherine Norton, who belonged to a well known family of Connecticut which was founded in October. 1635, by John Norton, who then landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and became a famous preacher in the colony. John Norton traced his de- scent from one De Norville, who was constable under William the
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Conqueror. Mr. and Mrs. Sewall were the parents of nine children, only one of whom, Walter Devereux Sewall, is now living. Mrs. Sewall died in December, 1840, and her husband passed away in June, 1846. He is remembered not only as a successful merchant, but as a man of literary attainments and poetic gifts, who counted among the names of his friends those of William Cullen Bryant and others dis- tinguished in the literary circles of Boston and New York.
(IX) Edmund Quincy Sewall, son of Henry Devereux and Mary Catherine (Norton) Sewall, was born July 1, 1826. in New York city, and was three years old when brought by his parents to Watertown. Here he attended the common schools, and at the age of fourteen entered Harvard University, from which he graduated at eighteen. He applied himself to the study of the law and spent two years at Heidelberg. Germany. For one year he was associated with the law firm of Mullin & Goodale, and then, feeling a decided preference for a mercantile career, engaged in business with George A. Bagley, under the firm name of Bagley & Sewall. This connection was maintained until the death of Mr. Sewall. The firm did a flourishing business as manufac- turers of machines and other iron products. The works were situated on Sewall's Island, a place noted for the number and magnitude of its manufactures. The Bagley & Sewall Company was incorporated July 6. 1882. Mr. Sewall was one of the incorporators of the National Union Bank and was a director in several similar institutions. There were few things in which Mr. Sewall took a more lively interest than in the cause of education and the improvement of the school system. This object he was ever ready to do all in his power to aid, and from 1882 to 1884 served as president of the board of education. His benevolence was great and his works of charity numerous. The old hospital of Watertown was much indebted to his beneficence. He was an active member of Trinity ( Protestant Episcopal) church, in which he served as vestryman. He was a fine musician and consecrated his gifts to the service of the church, officiating for thirty years as organist without compensation.
Mr. Sewall married June 28, 1866. Katherine, daughter of the late Major Henry Smith, a distinguished officer in the United States army, who, during the Mexican war, commanded at Vera Cruz. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sewall: Grace Foster, who married W. C. Stebbins, of Watertown; Edith Norton, who is the wife of Charles W.
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Valentine: Josephine Devereux, wife of Dr. Kendall Emerson, of Worcester, Massachusetts: and Elizabeth Quincy.
The death of Mr. Sewall, which took place August 21, 1892, at his home in Watertown, removed from the community one who will long be remembered as an honorable citizen, a true friend and an upright, benevolent man. In his character was seen the rare combination of a remarkably successful business man and a ripe scholar. His attain- ments as a linguist were great and his general culture extremely broad. There was probably no citizen whose loss would have been more deeply felt. His family were made to realize that they were not alone in their affliction, but that all classes of the community shared with them, to a certain degree, a sense of personal bereavement. Mr. Sewall's widow. who still survives him, is one of the directors of the Bagley & Sewall Company.
CRANSON ORVILLE GATES, one of the nation's brave de- fenders during the Civil war, is a native of the town of Wilna, born July 3, 1841. a son of one of its pioneer settlers. His ancestors on both sides included soldiers, and he came by his military spirit by inher- itance.
(I) Thomas Gates, Esq., of Higheaster and Thursteubie, county of Essex, England, born in 1327. was the original ancestor of the family, so far as now known.
(II) William Gates was the father of two children : Geoffrey and Ralph Chies.
(III) Sir Geoffrey Gates married Agnes, daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Baldington, of Aldersburg, Oxford, England.
(IV) William Gates married Mabel, daughter and heiress of Thomas Capdow, of Higheaster, and his wife, Ann, daughter of Thomas Fleming. of Essex. Their children were : Geoffrey and Anna.
(V) Sir Geoffrey Gates married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Will- iam Clapton Knight, of Kantwell. Sussex. Their children were: Sir John, Geoffrey, Henry, William and Dorothy.
(VI) Geoffrey Gates married a Miss Pascall, of Essex, England. Their children were : Geoffrey, Henry and John.
(\'Il) Geoffrey Gates married Jean Wentworth.
(VIII) Peter Gates, of London, married Mary Josselyn.
IX ) Thomas Gates was a resident of Norwich, Norfolk. Eng- land.
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(X) Stephen Gates, second son of Thomas Gates, the first Amer- ican ancestor of the family, came from Hingham, England, to Hing- ham. Massachusetts, in the ship Diligent of Ipswich, in 1638, accom- panied by his wife. Ann ( Hill) Gates, and two children. He was among the first residents of Lancaster, and subsequent to the year 1656 was a resident of Cambridge, where he died in 1662. We are led to believe that he and his family were of stubborn and independent character, from facts that he quarreled with his neighbor and lost his constable's staff, his daughter Mary contradicted the minister in open meeting, and his sons tried to break his will. In 1663 his widow became the wife of Richard Woodward. of Watertown. She died at Stow, February 5, 1683. Their descendants participated in the Indian wars, Revolutionary war, and wars of 1812 and 1861 : one enlisted in the Revolutionary war at the age of ten years. Their children were: Elizabeth, Mary, Ste- phen. Thomas, Simon, Isaac and Rebecca.
(XI) Simon Gates, third son and fifth child of Stephen and Ann (Hill) Gates, was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1645. and died April 21, 1693, at Brockton. His wife Mary was a native of Cam- bridge, where he resided for a time, but subsequently made his home in Lancaster and Muddy River. He inherited his father's estate at Cambridge. Their children were: Abraham, Simon (died young), Simon, George, Amos, Jonathan, Samuel and Mary.
(XII) Amos Gates, born in 1681, died in 1754, at Framingham, Massachusetts. He married, May 19, 1703, Hannah Oldham, daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Dana ) Oldham, born October 10, 1681. They resided at Brookline, Cambridge and Framingham, Massachusetts, his death occurring at the latter named place. Their children were: Han- nah, Margaret, Abigail, Mary, Amos, Oldham, Susannah, Samuel and Sarah.
(XIII) Amos Gates, eldest son and fifth child of Amos and Han- nah (Oldliam) Gates, born in 1714. baptized October 3. 1714. died in 1800, at Marlborough, New Hampshire. He married. November 28. 1744. Mary Trowbridge, daughter of John and Mehitable ( Eaton) Trowbridge, of Framingham, Massachusetts, born June 27. 1728. He served as a sergeant in the French and Indian war, and is supposed to have served in the Revolutionary war, though from his age and various other things this is somewhat doubtful. They resided in Framingham until 1799. and then removed to Marlborough. New Hampshire. Their
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children were: Amos, Mary, Anna, George, Charles, Henry, Oldham, Edmund, Martha, Ruth, Susannah and John.
(XIV) John Gates, youngest child of Amos and Mary ( Trow- bridge) Gates, born in 1772, baptized May 31, 1772, at Framingham, Massachusetts, died in 1844. He married (first), January 5, 1795, Eunice Winch, born October 26, 1770, died November 16, 1803, daugli- ter of Joseph and Mary ( Beals ) Winch, of Framingham, Massachu- setts. Ile married ( second), October 21, 1805, Jemima Harvey, daugh- ter of Timothy and Martha Harvey, of Marlborough, New Hampshire. They resided at Framingham, Massachusetts, for a short time, after which they removed to Keene, New Hampshire, and thence to Cornish, New Hampshire. His children by his first wife were: Leonard, Susan, Euniee and Jolin. The children by his second wife were: Cranston, Alvira, Martha, George, Hemy, Timothy, Harvey, Charles, Edmund, Lucia and Amanda.
(AT) Cranston Gates, eldest child of John and Jemima ( Har- vey) Gates, and fourth child of the former, born May 6. 1810, in Cor- nish. New Hampshire, was reared on a farm on Cornish Flats. He had very limited educational opportunities, but withal became a useful citizen of Jefferson county. He came to Wilna in 1829, and worked through the season in the employ of Edmund Rawson, helping to build a dam on the site of the one now maintained at Herring, on Black river, between Wilna and Champion. Returning to Cornish, he remained one year, and was married to Susan Vinton. In the fall of 1831 he took up his residence here permanently, and bought two hundred and sixty aeres of land, which he began to improve. He became a large farmer and sawmill operator, and owned sixteen hundred acres at one time. Much of this land was purchased to secure the timber growing upon it. and he made large amounts of lumber for building purposes. The son helped to haul to Watertown from his father's mills much of the lumber now forining a part of the Arcade in that city. Mr. Gates continued in the manufacture of lumber until his death, on July 7, 1873, and was survived by his widow until August, 1875. She was a descendant of one of the earliest Massachusetts families, including a Revolutionary soldier, as shown in the genealogy appearing as a part of this article.
Both Mr. Gates and his wife were among the leading members of the Disciples' church at Carthage, of whose Sunday-school he was superintendent for many years. He built the church edifice (which was afterward destroyed by fire ) upon contract, and donated seven hundred
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dollars of the cost. In carly life he was a Methodist, but was among the chief supporters of the Disciples' church from its organization. He was a Whig and abolitionist, and among the most earnest Republicans after the organization of the party. He was captain of the local Militia company, and served as highway commissioner of Wilna many years. His family included five sons and two daughters. Vinton, the eldest, is now a resident of Buffalo. Frederick died in Wilna, in 1874. Linus lived in the town of Denmark and was a lumber jobber, and died as the result of exposure on a log-drive. Julius K. resides upon the home- stead, site of the sawmill operated so many years by his father. Maria died in 1868, while the wife of Aaron Crane, of Wilna. Susan married William Scott and resides on part of the parental homestead.
(XVI) Cranson O. Gates, youngest of his father's children, grew up in Wilna, attending the district school and the academy at Carthage. In the meantime he made himself useful on the farm and about the sawmill, and continued with his father until he was twenty-three years old, renting the home farm during the last year of this time.
In 1864 he enlisted as a member of Captain H. J. Welch's com- pany, namely A, of the One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Regiment, New York Volunteers, and was twice wounded in the service. At one time, during the capture of Petersburg, he was cut through the lid of the left eye by a bayonet, while on a charge, and later in the same engage- ment, received a gunshot wound in the left leg, disabling him so that he was unable to bear further part in hostilities, and he was discharged from Jarvis Hospital at Baltimore. For more than a year he could not touch his left foot to the floor, and his escape from permanent disability is remarkable.
After recovering his health he engaged in making charcoal for some time, and subsequently purchased his father's sawmill, which he operated until 1876. In that year he moved to Carthage, and has since been employed at millwright and carpenter work and contracting. He has constructed many houses and other buildings, in the village and surrounding country, his latest large work being the completion of M. P. Mason's factory in West Carthage. He has been a busy man and has employed ten men much of the time in his operations.
Mr. Gates affiliates with E. B. Steele Post. Grand Army of the Republic, of Carthage, and was made a Free Mason in Carthage Lodge in 1866. He is a member of the Disciples' church, and an earnest Re-
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publican in politics. In 1874 he served as collector of the town of Wilna.
He has been married three times, first on March 18, 1863, the bride being Miss Susan Osborn, who died in 1866, surviving her only child, Orville. September 10. 1868, Mr. Gates married Mary McDonald, a native of Wilna, daughter of Thomas McDonald, of Irish birth and Scotch ancestry. She died December 14, 1874. leaving five children. Orville, the eldest, is a carpenter, residing in Carthage. Welton died at the age of seventeen years. Deborah died in 1898. being the wife of Grant Gardner. Susan died in 1807, and Mary died at the age of eighteen. Mr. Gates was married, at Croghan, November 30, 1880, to Catherine Connolly, who was born in Carthage, daughter of John and Bridget ( Leonard) Connolly, natives of Ireland. The children of this marriage were born as follows: Leonard. April 4. 1883: Agnes, April 26, 1885; John Earl, March 31. 1888: Roy. January 24, 1800: Edna, November 30, 1892: Donald Morris, August 30, 1903.
VINTON. The Vinton family is of ancient lineage and distin- gnished in the colonial annals of this country.
(I) John Vinton is first of record at Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1648. His wife's name was Ann.
(II) Jolin Vinton (2), son of John ( 1), was born March 2, 1650, and married, August 26, 1677. Hannah Green, who was born February 24, 1660. He lived at Lynn and Woburn, Massachusetts.
(III) John Vinton (3) married ( first), March 9, 1702-3, Abi- gail Richardson, and lived at Stoneham and Woburn.
(IV) Joseph Richardson Vinton, son of John (3), was born July 24. 1714, in Stoneham, and married Hannah Baldwin, of that place, February 17, 1733-4. Later he moved to Dudley, Massachusetts, where the balance of his life was passed.
(V) John Vinton (4) was born February 14, 1742, and mar- ried Dorothy Holmes, of Woodstock, Connecticut. He lived in Dudley and that part of Charlton which became Southbridge. Mr. Vinton was a patriot of the Revolution, serving in a company of minute-men, com- manded by Captain Nathaniel Healy, in Colonel Ebenezer Larned's regi- ment, that marched to Lexington on the alarm, April 19. 1775. He was also in a company commanded by the same captain, in Colonel Jona- than Holman's regiment, which marched on the alarm to Providence, . Rhode Island, performing twenty-one days' service. Mr. Vinton was
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one of the largest landholders in Charlton, where he died in 1814. His widow survived until 1834, reaching the venerable age of ninety-one years.
(VI) Major John Vinton, born in 1760, married Susanna Man- ning, of Woodstock, Connecticut, in 1784. He served in the Revolu- tion, from 1777 to 1780. In 1787 he moved to Cornish, New Hamp- shire, where he was a blacksmith and a prosperous farmer. He was a man of considerable note in the town, served as major of militia, was deputy sheriff and a large property-holder. He was a very large man, weighing three hundred and fifty pounds or more.
(VII) Susan M. Vinton, daughter of Major John and Susanna Vinton, was born in January, 1799, and was married, in April, 1831, to Cranston Gates, with whom she moved to Wilna, New York ( see Gates, XV).
TOLMAN. This name, for generations in New England and. later, in the state of New York, has been borne and honored by patriots, pioneers and upright citizens in every walk of civil life. The descend- ants in Jefferson county bear the blood of several of the best families in America, have kept intact the character of a worthy ancestry, and have enjoyed the esteem and friendship of those privileged to know them.
(I) The American ancestor of this family was Thomas Tolman, who came to Boston from England, in the year 1635-6, accompanied by his wife, Sarah, and their four children. He purchased a large tract of land in Dorchester, west of Neponset bridge, and built his residence on the north side of the creek. He was made a freeman in 1640, and re- sided on this property until his death, rearing a large family of chil- dren, several of whom were born there. His will was probated in Bos- ton.
(II) John, son of Thomas Tolman, was born in 1642, in Dorches- ter, Massachusetts, and was made a freeman in 1678. He married (first ) Elizabeth Collins, daughter of John Collins, of Lynn. She was born, probably, April 8, 1656, and died October 7, 1690. He married, June 15, 1692, Mary Paul, who bore him no offspring. He died January I, 1725, aged eighty-two years.
(III) Henry, son of John and Elizabeth (Collins) Tolman, was born March 4, 1679, in Dorchester, where he resided until after his chil- dren were born. Removing to Attleborough, he dwelt there until his
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death, at an advanced age. His wife, Hannah (surname unknown), died November II, 1735. Their children were: Elizabeth, Henry, Hannah and Molly.
(IV) Henry (2), only son of Henry (I) and Hannah Tolman, was born February 23, 1709, at Dorchester, and married Mary Slack, daughter of Deacon Benjamin Slack, of Attleborough. His home was in the latter town, where he died December 25, 1762. His wife passed away December 26, 1785, at Fitz-William, New Hampshire. Their chil- dren were: Ruth, Thomas, Henry, John, Anne, Ebenezer, William, Joseph, Chloe and Benjamin.
(V) Ebenezer, fourth son and sixth child of Henry (2) and Mary (Slack) Tolman, was born May 31, 1748, in Attleborough, Massachut- setts, and was deprived of his father by death when only fourteen years of age. He resided in the family of his maternal grandfather, Deacon Benjamin Slack, who was a wealthy farmer, until of age. In the mean- time he learned the trade of carpenter, and on attaining his majority removed to Fitz-William, New Hampshire, where he was engaged on building operations until the beginning of the Revolutionary war. He was one of the carly volunteers, and participated in the battle of Bunker Hill. In the autumn of 1775, he became a member of Captain Ward's company, which was a part of Colonel Benedict Arnold's command (consisting of one thousand men) in the desperate expedition against Quebec, begun at that time. They made their way from Cambridge, Massachusetts, up the Kennebee river, and through the wilderness to the Chaudiere, intending to descend that stream to Point Levi. The march was one of untold hardship and suffering, through the deep snows amid intense cold, and the men were brought to the verge of star- vation. They killed and ate dogs, and even devoured their moose-skin moccasins, in the extremity of hunger. Finally arriving at Quebeca they participated in the assault on that city, on the last day of the year 1775, and Arnold's men succeeded in getting into the lower town, but were overwhelmed by superior numbers and most of the command were made prisoners. Among this band of heroes was Ebenezer Tolman, who, with others, made an effort to escape, and was detected and kept in irons for some time. Upon his release he returned to his home and entered the Colonial army as sergeant, but the hardships endured in the preceding winter had so undermined his health that he was forced to leave the service. He followed farming six years at Fitz-William, New Hampshire, and removed to Marlboro, same state, where he continued
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three years. At the end of this period he settled in Nelson, New Hamp- shire, where he continued to dwell until his death, December 27. 1838. He was married, at New Ipswich, New Hampshire, in March, 1781, to Mary Clarke, who was born February 16, 1756, and died March 18. 1834. She was a daughter of William and Sarah ( Locke) Clarke, of Townsend, Massachusetts. William Clarke was of the same family as Rev. Dr. Adani Clarke, author of Clarke's Commentaries. Sarah Locke traced descent from William Locke, who came to America in 1034. Following is a brief account of the children of Ebenezer and Mary (Clarke) Tolman : Polly, born February 16, 1782, at Fitz-William, died August 18, 1796. Ebenezer, born April 23, 1784, died in 1875, receives further mention in this article. George, May 31, 1785, died May 10, 1874, in Nelson. Betsey, born at Marlborough, New Hampshire. June 2, 1788, married (April 27, 1817), Thomas Baker, of the town of Wa- tertown, this county. Cynthia, born June 25, 1793, at Nelson, New Hampshire, was married in 1816 to Josiah Richardson, of Watertown. William, born 1795, in Nelson, receives further mention below. Mary, born February 11, 1798, in Nelson, was married September 21, 1836. to Captain Christopher C. Rich, of Richville, St. Lawrence county, New York. She died August 3, 1870. Cyrus C., March 16, 1800, at Nelson. married Lucy Abbott, and died on the homestead there, August 15, 1857.
Ebenezer Tolman, senior, stood over six feet and two inches in height, with muscular development in proportion. At one time. while going up the Kennebec river on a boat, it was compelled to wait for the tide in crossing a bar. A company of roughs on board sought to amuse themselves at the expense of their fellow passengers. They made a rule that each man must treat or be shaved. This process con- sisted in besmearing the face with malodorous grease and scraping it off with a wooden razor. When they approached Mr. Tolman to learn his choice, he threw them, one after the other, over the rail into the river and was not further molested. He built the first house in the present city of Haverhill, New Hampshire. for the founder, Colonel Haverhill. While he received little education, as far as books go, he possessed un- usual intelligence, and was well informed, through experience and ob- servation. He believed in education and saw that his children had the best opportunities of their time. His service in the struggle which freed his country from oppression should make his name honored by all his descendants, and he shares in the glory which attaches to the heroes of the Revolution in the mind of every patriotic citizen.
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(VI) Ebenezer, eldest son and second child of Ebenezer and Mary (Clarke) Tolman, was born April 23, 1784, in Fitz-William, New Hamp- shire, and passed his early life after the manner of New England farm- ers' sons in the town of Nelson, same state. He became a resident of Jefferson county in 1817, accompanying his younger brother, William, and three sisters in the migration. He located on land in the southeastern part of the town of Watertown, near the present school house number IO, and cleared up and developed a farm in the wilderness. This farm is now occupied by his grandson, Charles A. Tolman, and is one of the best in the town. Mr. Tolman was a thorough-going man, industrious and attentive to his own concerns, and became successful as a farmer and was respected as a citizen. His integrity of character and honesty of purpose were never successfully assailed, and he led a life worthy of emu- lation, ever ready to meet every duty and obligation in a manly way, without ostentation.
Mr. Tolman was married, May 5, 1816, to Miss Hopeful Randall, a native of Massachusetts, who died March 23, 1845. She was a woman of amiable and consistent character, a faithful member of the Burrville Congregational church, as was also her husband. He survived her many years, passing away February 7, 1875. They were the parents of seven children.
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